DCC storm Cairngorm Sportive

Dunfermline Cycling Club members enjoyed a superb day at the Cairngorms Sportive on Saturday with riders James Bell and Ken Thomson posting the 2nd and 4th quickest times of the day respectively (at 5h 06m for James and 5h24m for Ken). Twelve other members completed the 98 mile course completing it in times up to seven and a half hours (we're not all as quick as James and Ken!). The day started out pretty grim when we all rocked up into the car park, high winds, driving rain and cold! The troops got underway about 9.45am with a rapid windy descent although there were a few wobblers for those with deep section rims! Several groups formed and pushed through the torrential conditions, made even more interesting by the fact none of us could see through our dark sunglasses (after all, why wouldn't we wear them on a dark rainy morning). Fortunately the weather subsided and the yellow and blue train of DCC rode their way to the bottom of the last climb back up to the Ski Centre, a category 2, 8 mile ascent with gradients reaching around 13% at places! This would be tough alone but with everyone having 90 miles in the legs already it was positively gruelling. As if that weren't enough, the mountain decided to deliver a headwind at the same time, just to make sure we really knew what we were up against. Those Garmin's with an autopause feature truly didn't know what their riders were doing! But we're made of sterner stuff here at DCC and we finished, all of us, smiling at the achievement and teamwork to get us to the end. A few of us were staying over to enjoy the legendary Aviemore nightlife with a few beers and the occasional nip (there might also have been something about a football match as well but we didn't notice that, too much!). Thanks to the organisers and volunteers who cheered us on and looked after our needs. A great event, highly recommended!